All Ten: The Ultimate Bowling Feat

39 George Giffen for the fact that ten of his 103 Test wickets were caught and bowled. As a batsman Giffen had a solid defence and a full range of scoring shots. With as yet no Sheffield Shield, relatively few first-class matches were played in Australia each season. By the start of 1884 Giffen was an established Test cricketer, South Australia’s first, and had been picked for the forthcoming Australian tour of England. As preparation a programme of practice matches had been arranged. Most were against odds but two, against sides styled ‘Combined XI’, were first-class. Facilities at what was to become the Sydney Cricket Ground were still basic. Nevertheless, when the ground had staged its first Test (although not recognised as such at the time) two years before, a crowd of 16,000 had been attracted to the second day. Ten of the Combined XI played for New SouthWales, with Victoria providing wicketkeeper Percy Lewis. With eight past or future internationals, including 1884 tourists Fred Spofforth and Sammy Jones, the Combined XI had a more than decent side. The Australian XI led off with 318, captain Billy Murdoch top scoring with 83. In the first match against the Combined XI in January he had made 279 not out and a few months later at The Oval he would make Test cricket’s first double-century. The Combined XI began their reply on the second day before a crowd of 5,000. The fielding side had to contend with a wind that blew almost a gale throughout the day. On the other hand the batsmen had to contend with a pitch that had been cut up by the previous day’s activities. In the circumstances Jones’ 88 against a strong attack (Giffen three for 62) was a masterly performance. Second top-scorer Spofforth, going in with eight wickets down in worsening conditions, had hit out at everything and made 29 in 12 minutes. Following on (still compulsorily) the Combined XI started well reaching 42 without loss. However Giffen, who was to bowl unchanged, then got into his stride and by the close the score had subsided to 52 for four. The fourth wicket to fall had been Reginald Allen who failed to emulate the one he scored in the first innings. Allen, who played a solitary Test three years later, died in 1952 which gave him plenty of time to follow the successful England career of his nephew Gubby Allen (who would take his own all-ten in 1929). It was clear that the match didn’t have much longer to run and next day the crowd was a meagre 1,000. Harry Moses was not out overnight. Four years later he would run out of partners against Victoria three runs short of becoming Australia’s second triple-centurion. He stayed for a while before being caught by the tourists’ manager George Alexander who was acting as a substitute, but after that the end came soon. ‘Joey’ Palmer and Harry Boyle were still major Test bowlers but would remain wicketless at the other end while Giffen ran through the opposition. He must have been very keen to finish the job quickly because after bowling the last over on the second day he bowled the first on the third. This was permitted then, as long as the bowler did not change ends more than twice in the innings or bowl more than two overs in succession. Captain Hugh Massie had top scored before Giffen had him caught by Percy McDonnell, like Massie a future captain of his country. A magnificent forcing batsman and banker by profession Massie played in nine Tests.